Sales Managers' Strategy Clarity Boosts Team Performance

ASHEVILLE, N.C., Sept. 17, 2026 /CourierPR/ -- Sales managers who can clearly articulate their company's strategy are significantly more likely to drive their teams to achieve their sales goals, according to new research from Ignite Selling, Inc., in partnership with the Sales Management Association (SMA).

The study, which surveyed management-level practitioners in sales effectiveness and leadership roles at 97 firms, found that only 58% of salespeople can articulate a coherent plan of action for meeting specific, quantified sales objectives. However, the ability of sales managers to do so is a strong predictor of performance. Among firms where managers can articulate a strategy, 84% met their firm sales objective, compared to just 36% of firms where managers could not, a 48-point gap.

Steve Gielda, Co-Founder and Principal Partner of Ignite Selling, explained, "Getting the strategy right has less to do with a smarter strategic thesis and more to do with whether leaders can put that strategy into everyday language and coach their teams to execute it. When a salesperson can't describe their company's strategy, it's tempting to conclude they need more training, but that's rarely the real gap. Most reps have already been taught the underlying skills. What they haven't been taught is how those skills map to this year's priorities."

The research also highlighted the importance of change management in sales performance. Firms that clearly communicate to their salespeople how their roles need to change in support of a new strategy are 2.5 times more likely to meet their firm sales objective (82% vs. 33%). Furthermore, firms that recalibrate their sales learning, coaching, and development activities to reinforce these changes are nearly three times more likely to hit their sales targets (83% vs. 25%).

Bob Kelly, Chairman and Founder of the Sales Management Association, stated, "Strategy execution is a translation and coaching problem, not a design problem. The firms that outperform in this research aren't winning because they have a more insightful strategic thesis. They're winning because they execute an integrated set of ordinary management disciplines, goal-setting, guidance, coaching alignment, and follow-through, more consistently than their peers."

The findings suggest that closing the gap between strategy and execution is less about rethinking strategy itself and more about the everyday disciplines that translate it into frontline behavior. These include setting clear individual goals, actively guiding how salespeople prioritize their efforts, and equipping both managers and reps to articulate and act on a coherent plan.

Ignite Selling, Inc., has been recognized as one of the top sales training providers in the industry, named to Selling Power’s Top 20 Sales Training Companies list multiple years in a row and included on the Training Industry Watch List for Sales Training. In 2026, the company was honored with a Stevie Award in the Sales Training Practice of the Year category as part of the Stevie Awards for Sales and Customer Service.